Follow the crazy adventures of an Alabama cyclist taking on the Race Across America in 2015.

The Birmingham Monsters, addendum

When I was exploring the Birmingham Monsters on Wednesday, I knew that I didn’t really have time to go out and hit up my favorite monster in Birmingham – Double Oak Way. So today the opportunity came up to ride out that way and report on the stats of three more monsters and one more mini-monster in the Greater Birmingham area. This ride was on my commute home from work with a backback on so I would think you would have to consider these part of Birmingham if I can include them on my commute!

And if you are interested in recreating this ride yourself, a couple notes – 280 during a Friday lunchtime rush hour isn’t too bad as long as you can keep a steady 35-45mph on the long downhills. The lights are timed for you to make most of them at about that speed and then catch up with your group of cars when they miss the light in front of you. Watch the people merging from I-459. I ended up traveling nearly the entire length of 280 with the same group of cars because traffic was heavy enough to be going relatively slow (i.e., a lot slower than 55-60mph!!!). I got dropped from the group on the way up to Meadowbrook, but caught them again at the light at the top of the hill.